Bullpen Tavern

216 Glen Street
Glens Falls, NY 12801
(518) 745-7811


The next time you are in Glens Falls . . . you should eat at the Bullpen. I happened upon this place while on my way to Vermont, there are not a whole lot of places to stop for a beer and burger. This place is in a great building in their cool little downtown. A revival to it's past glory, perhaps.

The menu is good bar food, and the draft list covers all the bases. Lots of local choices as well. I went with the recommended jalapeno bacon burger, cooked medium rare. The bread was perfect, the bacon nice a crispy, and the jalapenos provided quite a bit of kick.

The cooper sharp cheese (a personal favorite) was melted perfectly.

The battered fries were crispy and addictive. Especially dipped in a side of the chipotle sauce.

Look at how perfectly this burger was cooked. I was quite impressed.

Juicy, well seasoned meat cooked to a perfect medium rare. What's not to love?

I also wanted to try something less traditional for a bar in upstate New York. In this case, I went with the fried shrimp po'boy. The shrimp were battered with Red Hook beer, and tossed in "bang bang" sauce.

The bread did nicely (obviously no Leidenheimer) but it certainly held up to the task. The shrimp had a sweet and spicy, sticky sauce. I was a big fan. Surprisingly good food I stumbled upon here. If you are ever looking for a spot to eat on the way to Vermont, this might be the place.

Double Edge Sports Grille

4803 West Chester Pike
Newtown Square, PA 19073
(610) 356-7666
Website

Never mind the blurry picture, the Double Edge is a great spot to grab wings and a beer. Especially in the bar desert that is Newtown Square. Sure, it's in a strip mall next to my grocery store, but hey, maybe I needed some ice cream afterward. Don't judge.

They have wing night on Wednesday's, with $.50 wings and $4 craft brew special. I obviously had to give the wings a try. And a beer or two . . . not to mention it happened to break into bingo night, which added some extra stay-after-dinner-for-a-few-more-drinks flair.

The brown sugar diablo was first on the agenda. I liked the traditional sweet with heat approach. Not too spicy, but overall a solid wing. I asked for them "well done" and they were rendered and crisped appropriately. I love when I can split my orders and get all the flavors I could want.

The cajun dry rub wing was even better. Dry rubs tend to produce a crispier end product, because of the lack of sauce. I would hope you already knew that. I have been on a bit of a dry-rub kick recently, and these were no exception. Full of flavor and long on crunch, they were definitely a well executed fried wing.

The porchetta sandwich was said to be a crowd pleaser by the bartender. I couldn't disagree. Tender Italian style pork, sharp provolone, bitter broccoli rabe, and a fresh seeded roll.

The pork was juicy, tender, and had a nice salty pork flavor. The texture was not the dried out, then re-hydrated type you often get at places that let their swine sit too long. A lot of the folks were eating pork, so it stands to reason you are getting a fresh serving. The only weird part was the gravy. I was thinking it would be an au jus, but it was a thick, roux based version, not what I would generally associate with porchetta. It didn't even need it.

The fries, although frozen and much larger than I would generally prefer, were fried quite well. The batter helped them maintain their crunch, the salty seasoning kept me coming back for more. Not a bad sports bar by any means, the fact that there are not a lot of options in the immediate area made it that much better.

Dave & Buster's

325 North Columbus Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 413-1951
Website

Although it is out of my general purview of locations to serve the general purpose of this website, I am never one to turn down a free experience. Especially when there are video games, sports, beer, and bar food involved. When I was recently asked to check out the interior upgrades and new menu additions at Dave and Buster’s, I was pretty damn excited.

I had actually been there somewhat recently, but was unaware of the dramatic transformation that had recently been undertaken.

I can honestly say, if there were a sporting event worth watching in this town in the near future, I would consider this as a viable possibility. The size and amount of new TV’s is almost a joke. Certain to elicit involuntary orgasmic outcrys from dyed-in-the-wool sports fans.

Seriously, there is an awesome set of TVs about everywhere you look.

We decided to forgo the traditional dining room for a seat at the bar, with college basketball and ice hockey (damn you NHL) as far as the eye could see. As this was a Friday night, the new appetizer sampler seemed to be calling my name, especially when I'd be coupling it with a pint of Dog Fish Head 60 Minute (or 5). This platter is the size of a small desk and is flush with wings, fried shrimp, pigs in a blanket, a chicken quesadilla, and homemade potato chips. If that doesn’t equate to bar food, then a drop of fermented beverage will never again touch these lips. Our bartender, Russel, was on point and left us wanting for nothing. Even multiple requests (as are usual accompaniments to my eating habits) like a side of the sauce from this other appetizer or yet another beer, were met with a disarming smile and at times, a fantastic recommendation.

Enter The 5:15. "The 5:15 was made for you and your crew, out of the office at last and looking for a good time. You'll get 5 Buffalo Wings with your choice of Ranch or Bleu Cheese dressing; 5 Chicken Quesadilla Wedges with salsa; 5 Pretzel Dogs; and 5 Crispy Fried Shrimp with spicy habanero sauce; complete with a stack of fresh BBQ potato chips. Because work sucks. And freedom tastes good."

That said, I have to start with the bad. The pigs in a blanket were unpalatably salty. And I LOVE salt. There was a seasoning sprinkled on the blankets (atop an already sodium-rich snack) that, in turn, elevated it to salt-lick status. I also would have humbly suggested serving them with some sort of mustard dip. It would add some acidity to cut the salty, fatty flavor that makes these such a classic party food. The wings were solid, nothing spectacular, but definitely something I would order again. Especially if I were watching some type of athletic event on the aforementioned television encirclement.

The quesadilla was again, fine, all of the things one would expect. Crispy tortilla, melted cheese, tender chicken, spices.

The shrimp were delicious, but growing up with a background that forbade letting a single piece of seafood go uneaten, I could eat any kind of fried ocean goer and be content.

Perhaps the most interesting twist of the evening came in the form of the potato balls that were recommended by Russ, the bartender. The tiny fryer basket they were served in was lucky to not leave with me. Someone may have called it "cute." The potato balls were crispy, not overly salty, and creamy inside. I would have appreciated the inclusion of a dipping sauce or two, but these were like an adult(ish) version of tots, and with fresh parsley they tasted fine alone. But I will also say that the 5:15 had an abundance of dipping potential, so there was some mix-and-match happening. Highly recommended.

I also had the good fortune to receive a few gaming cards pre-loaded with enough credits to play a significant amount of video games. I had Rounders style luck on one of them, but I won’t say which.

We headed back along the winding walkway – this place is humungous – and entered the ultimate fun center.

There is another bar back here, so fear not, your drinks can continue to flow.

The games go for days.

And so do the tickets... if you're good.

I definitely had a great time at Dave & Busters, (my beer tab certainly must have reflected that), and it had more to offer than I was expecting. The food was passable, but the environment for hanging out and watching the game was quite impressive. One of the issues with watching sports in Philly is that the places with nice TV’s are filled with people who suck, and the places you want to hang at and drink for cheap have shitty TV’s. Dave and Buster’s has enough space to not be crammed in with a few thousand frat boys, and the TV’s are nice enough to make curling interesting. Not to mention, as we were informed by the bartender, they routinely have local professional athletes show up of their own accord, so who knows, you could be watching the Sixers with Jason Peters.